A TOWN LIKE ALICE 8-13 JUNE 2008

I had forgotten that this was the Queen's birthday long weekend and the Finke desert motor bike and dune buggy race was scheduled to run for several days, hence the fully booked accommodation and on this Sunday morning the place was slow to wake up.After several false starts I found a newsagent with the weekend national papers and was directed to a smart restaurant called Oscar's where I had an exceptionally good breakfast.It seemed strange to see aboriginal people on the streets clad in fibre-pile jackets, fleecy track pants and wearing warm beanies.No sleeping out under trees here at this time of year.
Gradually the sun came out and it was soon a very pleasant warmish day in the low 20s. From the lookout I got a panoramic view of the city's layout, snug in the embrace of the encircling red rock escarpments.


ALICE FROM THE ANZAC HILL LOOKOUT
I was encouraged by the warming weather to drive out to the site of the original telegraph station around which Alice Springs was founded here was the starting point of a remarkable long distance walk-the Larapinta Trail which runs along the West MacDonnell Ranges for some 220 Klms.My muse, Rae, was about to take on this formidable challenge, with her daughter, in a week or so and I decided to sample the start.

THE LARAPINTA CHALLENGE
An information shelter displayed an excellent plan of the whole route and of this first stage in detail. The quality of this and the marking of the trail were first class and an example to other national parks of how to do it.
At an early point on the trail I came upon a small well kept graveyard with a few white headstones-was the trail that tough, I thought? But no, they were the graves of pioneering people associated with the early days of the telegraph station.

PIONEER GRAVES

START OF THE TRAIL
On such a day the walking was sheer delight and the trail firm, relatively flat and dry enabled me to set a pace around 6klm per hour (especially as I was only going to sample the first hour or so of the trail and had no pack to carry).

ALONG THE TRAIL
The way undulated across the countryside affording sweeping views over the surrounding terrain and in the initial stages was accompanied by the remains of a telegraph line of indeterminate age. Despite keeping up a brisk pace, such was the moderate temperature, that I didnt even perspire. A far cry from the Piccanniny gorge experience.
After this I motored further along the range to Simpson's gap. The Larapinta Trail passes close to the Gap but as it still had water in it and it seemed that walkers would have had to wade to enter it.

SIMPSON'S GAP
Afraid the famous gap seemed a bit ordinary after the dramatic and much more tourist-free gorges of the Bungle Bungles.
After this I returned to town and found a good camping ground just outside the centre and opposite the cultural centre.I had arranged to lunch with my former wife, Bronwyn, who is Deputy Matron of the Alice Springs Hospital but as she was away visiting her parents in Mildura, we were not scheduled to catch up until Friday 13th and so I booked in for four nights.The camp site was full of competitors in the desert race, which must be very tough as a participant was killed that day.It was a very cool night-people in the neighbouring tent were from Victoria and I observed the wife in the camp Kitchen, boiling a kettle to fill her hot water bottle!!I slept in my fibre pile trews and my good snow bag came into its own-I knew it would sometime on the trip.
STANDLEY CHASM AND LARAPINTA AGAIN-9TH JUNE
Slow lazy start to the day. Tent was dripping with dew and it was right to wait until the sun was well up before starting on breakfast.I drove to the Standley Chasm, even further out along the Larapinta route.

STANDLEY CHASM
The walk to the chasm was easy but the rock scramble up a 45 degree slope at the end looked very uncomfortable and for once discretion got the better part of valour and so I retreated to reconnoitre another leg of the Larapinta.

HERE GOES
The start of the track looked forbidding as it climbed very steeply up out of the Chasm into a rocky gully.The signpost warned that it was only suitable for experienced walkers!!Indeed it proved to be a really knee trembling climb and descent.The stage went all the way to Swift's Creek but I elected to tackle just this climb up to to the ridge and the rim of the chasm.The views down into the gorge were spectacular and I was very impressed with the way the trail builders had maintained a natural look whilst creating an almost staircase like pitch in places where it became very steep and dangerous.

VIEW FROM THE RIDGE INTO STANDLEY CHASM
Coming down was tricky and I took great care to focus on my balance and not catching my boots on the rock. A fall here on such hard rock and down such a slope would have meant a spell of dental if not orthopaedic surgery.

WATCH YOUR FEET-STEEP DESCENT
Afraid camera over-exposure occurred again but you may be able to get some impression of the precipitate nature of the trail.This will test Rae's resolve-it tested mine.
Over the next few days I enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere of the Alice, I caught up with the latest Indiana Jones film and saw Queensland defeat NSW in the State of Origin decider in an English style pub.

OLD TOWN JAIL-ALICE SPRINGS
The cultural centre was holding an Albert Namatjira exhibition and after seeing that I went to the nearby graveyard to see the graves of Lassiter and Namatjira-the latter being particularly striking because of the reproduction of one of his paintings on tiles on his headstone.

NAMATJIRA'S GRAVE
After a very pleasant lunch with Bronwyn in a Thai restaurant I made an early afternoon departure from Alice Springs on the way to Uluru.